But Clinton took several indirect swipes at Trump, who has ignited controversy for derogatory comments about illegal immigrants, for mocking a reporter with disabilities, for sexist remarks about women and for proposing a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

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“We should not reward people who use inflammatory rhetoric, who use the kind of derogatory comments, whether it's about Muslims, or Mexicans, or women, or people with disabilities, whoever it might be,” Clinton said. “That is not a sign of leadership. That's a sign of, you know, showmanship, of desperation, that should be rejected roundly by the American people.”

Clinton has taken particular offense to Trump’s Muslim ban. She said at the last Democratic debate that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is using Trump’s rhetoric to recruit new terrorists.

On Tuesday, Clinton reiterated that Americans will need to work with Muslims to take on ISIS and argued that Trump’s rhetoric on the issue is unhelpful in that regard.

“I believe ISIS cannot be contained, it has to be defeated,” Clinton said. “But in order to do that, we need to work within our own country, with Muslim Americans, so that what I'm hearing from the other side is not only offensive and shameful, it's dangerous, counter-productive.”

Clinton has said that her New Year’s resolution is to steer clear of commenting on Trump. In the MSNBC interview, she stuck to that claim when Matthews pressed her on Trump’s personal attacks against her and Bill Clinton, who, this week, began taking on a more visible role on the campaign trail.

Trump has blasted Bill Clinton for his past infidelities and has alleged that Hillary Clinton can’t play the “woman’s card” against him because she was complicit in bullying Bill Clinton’s accusers into silence.

Those attacks came after Clinton accused Trump of having a “penchant for sexism,” a line of attack that she avoided on Tuesday.

“He can say whatever he wants to say,” Clinton said. “I'm going to keep talking about what people talk to me about, and what they talk to me about is what are we going to do about prescription drug pricing.”

“These are real things that people talk to me about, and I'm going to be a president who does the big stuff that gets in the headlines that, you know, you and other analysts and reporters talk about,” she continued. “And I'm going to do the stuff that keeps people awake at night. Like, you know, making sure they can afford their prescription drugs.”